Not a Clue
by Koume
Summary: From Ichigo's perspective, telling of a night he and Ishida ran into a rather big pack of Hollows, and what it leads to. IchiIshi Shounen ai


**Title:** Not a Clue  
**Anime:** Bleach  
**Genre:** Romance  
**Pairing:** IchiIshi

* * *

Ask me what happened and I'd tell you I have no fucking clue. It's true, I swear. It was some obscene hour of the night… I remember something about 3am, I was fighting Hollows with Uryuu. Yeah, shut up. I've taken to calling him by his first name in my head. I never let it slip out when I talk to him though. Never. Gotta keep face. 

Anyway, the bastards had come in a pretty damn big pack this time. Bigger than usual. I was fucking tired and I could tell he was too. My hands had blisters on them from swinging Zangetsu around so much, but it was nothing compared to Uryuu, his hands were dripping with blood. I mean, I knew he bled sometimes when we faced a large number of Hollows at once, but fuck I've never seen him on his knees and just _staring _at his hands while they dripped blood on the ground ever before.

Did he have any bandages with him? I didn't think he'd be able to take it out if he did and I didn't quite fancy the idea of rummaging through his pockets for him, so I kept my silence. Yeah, that's right. I'm a fucking wuss. In a moment of severity like this, I was _still_ feeling queasy about going through the pockets of a guy who was bleeding to death. So fucking shoot me.

"Kurosaki…"

His voice sounded fainter than usual and I didn't need to hear anymore to know what to do. Walking towards him, I hesitated before picking him up and, well, unceremoniously slinging him over my shoulder.

"My house is closer…" he muttered, "Only a few blocks away… won't have to tire yourself out."

"What are you talking about, idiot. Of course I won't tire myself out."

It was true, though. I was feeling a bit weary. At the moment, the most important thing was to get both of us to safety, and to dress his wounds. At least having an idiot father who ran the clinic was good for _something_. I knew how to bandage his hands better than he did. This was a fact, because when he's shown up at school before with his hands covered in bandages, I can see all the errors he's made, but I don't tell him. He probably had a hard time bandaging himself with those bleeding hands anyway. And besides, he always gets surrounded with those fucking annoying school girls cooing over him whenever he gets hurt.

He directed me to his place and by the time we got there, he was barely conscious and I was barely standing. Making my way in, I carefully put him down on the couch before sinking to the floor myself. Remembering I had left the door open, I forced myself to get up and close it before collapsing half-way back to the couch.

"Kurosaki…?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

Heh. The bastard's bleeding to death and he's _thanking _me.

"No problem. It's the least I can do for the person I—"

Woah there, Ichigo. Shut the fuck up before you say too much, eh?

"The person I fight Hollows with."

The recovery was lame. I knew it, but I still hoped it was believable.

"Rukia's going to be worrying about you."

"Meh," I said, my face still in the carpeted floor, "Let her."

"Don't you care about her? I mean, at school, they say—"

"I don't give a shit what they say," I said, wishing I had the energy to roll my eyes, "She's a sister to me."

"So you don't love her?"

"No," I replied firmly. Well, as firm as you can be with a voice as weak as mine was at the moment. "Besides, why do you want to know all of a sudden?"

There was a pause before he said, "No reason."

This wasn't good. I could hear the weakness in his voice. It was increasing and I'd be _damned _if I let Uryuu die anywhere near me. Unfortunately, my legs refused to co-operate with this idea.

"Damn it," I muttered to myself as I propped myself up by the elbows and began crawling, well, dragging myself toward the couch where he lay.

"Ku..ro…sa…ki…?" he weakly turned his face in my direction as I dragged myself to the foot of the couch and I swore, seeing how pale he was.

"Shut up," I whispered, "Just shut up and stay awake, okay? I'm going to fix you."

He grinned, or tried to. Closing his eyes, he turned his face back up to the ceiling.

"I…chi…go."

I knew he was unconscious. This just made me want to go faster, but I couldn't. Not when my legs weren't working.

Ichigo… he said _Ichigo_… for some reason, I felt that it mattered.

Snap the fuck out of it Ichigo, you've got work to do.

It was a good enough reminder. That and the sight of Uryuu's hand hanging limp on the side of the couch. Using the arm of the couch, I forced myself to stand. Yeah, I could do this. I've lived through worse. My vision was getting blurry. I wondered if this was what it was like when Uryuu wasn't wearing his glasses… No, Ichigo. Keep your mind on the task. I managed to find his bathroom with ease… his place wasn't too big, it was a flat afterall, but it was still rather small. I had to use the wall to lean against but I made it to the bathroom quick enough. I turned the light on and _fuck_, fluorescent light can hurt when you're close to passing out. Most people kept some sort of first aid kit in the bathroom and he wasn't any different. The bandages were found with ease – and he had quite a bit of them. He was well prepared, that was for sure. Getting them out, I made my way back to where he lay, taking a mug of water with me.

"Hey… Ishida."

I only realised how weary I was when I heard it in my voice. Ignoring it, I kept myself alert, hoping for a response from him. I got none in the form of a reply, but in the stillness of the night, I could make out his laboured breaths.

At least he was still alive.

"Wake up, would you," I murmured, falling to my knees beside him.

I was _really_ running out of energy, but I knew I had to do this. It felt like that was the only thing keeping me awake, in fact.

I started with the hand that was hanging off the side of the couch. He wasn't bleeding much anymore, the carpet had a few drops of blood, but it was nothing too serious. His actual hand, however, looked a lot more serious. It was completely _drenched_ in blood, so I took the hand and dipping cloth into the water, I began to clean it. It took a long time, just for one hand, but finally the majority of the blood was gone – you could see the cuts, but not much else. Some blood was still running, so I got to bandaging the arm. Slowly and carefully, I did it the way goat-face had taught me and it was done, looking a hell of a lot better than what Uryuu could do. I didn't revel in the fact, though. I still had the other hand.

"Damn it, Uryuu…"

He was unconscious anyway… he wouldn't have heard me, so I didn't hesitate to use his given name. I wished he would wake up though. There was some comfort to be found in those eyes in a time like this. Of course, I was denied such comfort and felt alone, tending to the limp body of my… My battle partner.

I did the same for the other arm, but I had to lean across him to reach it. It was quite some strain on the strength I had left, but I managed. Barely. As soon as I was done, I felt myself slumping onto Uryuu's unmoving form. I was vaguely aware of the warmth that still came from his body. It was somewhat comfortable, but I forced myself away.

Keep your place, Ichigo. You idiot.

In retrospect, I really don't think I could help it. I pushed myself up, away from his soft and warm body and found myself looking at his peaceful face. Carefully taking his glasses off, I placed them on the table nearby and I… well… I kissed him.

Wasn't much of a kiss, really. His lips were still, but so soft and… _damn_ I'd been wanting to do that for a while. I brought a calloused, blistered hand to his face and hesitated, before turning it so the slightly smoother back of it was brushed against the soft skin. Stroking his cheek like that made me forget how weak I felt. In fact, I felt like I was protecting him… and it was a good feeling. Even better, I'll admit, than watching Karin and Yuzu fall asleep under my care.

My fingers eventually found his lips and I kissed him again, a bit rougher than before. Not enough to disturb or hurt him, I hoped. I don't think it bothered me much that my first- and second- kiss had gone to a sleeping guy, because it just felt too nice to think about much else.

Well, that was until I felt lips moving against my own.

Panicking, and silently swearing, I jerked back to see Uryuu's eyes slightly opened.

"Kurosaki… don't stop."

I was unable to do anything. I just stayed there, kneeling over him with a shocked expression of my face. Then the pain and the lightheaded feeling came back and I slid to the floor.

When I woke, it took me a while to register my surroundings. Was I lying in my bed? No… whatever I was lying on was too hard, too uncomfortable to be my bed. The surroundings were too neat to be my room. And I hadn't woken to my dad trying to break my neck. The last fact especially gave away the fact I wasn't at home.

Oh wait… Uryuu. That's right, I was at his place. Blinking a few times before I sat up, with some difficulty, but no pain, and rested against the back of the couch and looked around to find Uryuu looking at me. His glasses were back on, but his face didn't bear the usual frown.

"Feeling better?" he asked and I only managed to nod slowly and he looked relieved.

I scratched my head to find my hands had been bandaged. I could tell it was him, by the way the had been done. Not very bad, but of course I could do better. I wasn't complaining, though.

"Thanks," I said, indicating my bandages and he nodded.

"Least I could do. You had more work to do," he indicated his own bandage covered arms, "Plus, I wasn't about to pass out when I was doing yours. Your consciousness is just as stubborn as the rest of you."

I managed a grin and he looked amused. It was a look that made me want to—

Oh _crap_. I wondered if he remembered the kiss…es. Well, I guessed it wouldn't be too bad if he remembered, seeing he _did_ ask me to continue. Part of my mind annoyingly put forward the fact that he was _delirious_ when he had done so. For all I knew, he could have thought I was someone else.

_Kurosaki… don't stop._

He _had_ said my name. He must have known it was me, I couldn't imagine him directing the comment to any other Kurosaki. Eh, in fact, I didn't want to _think_ of his comment being directed at any other Kurosaki. Or anyone else. I wanted him to belong to _me_.

"Spacing out already?"

His voice snapped me back to reality and I looked at him. He still had the amused look on his face and I couldn't help but smile.

"Kurosaki, do you like boys?"

The question was sudden, unexpected and _very_ direct.

Duh, of _course _I like boys. In fact, _a boy_. You, Ishida Uryuu. It's _you_, idiot.

Yeah, it was something I had come to terms with a while back. Not long after I met him for the first time, to be honest. The first time I saw him, with those glasses, slender frame and beautiful hair, I had hoped he was a girl. Then I found out he wasn't. Then I found out I didn't care anyway. I, Kurosaki Ichigo, am not one to like many people. No, I can honestly say that I have not held a crush for longer than perhaps an hour, after assessing all the pros and cons of said person (okay, I will admit that I had a brief thing for Rukia, which lasted longer than usual but still, a week wasn't much, was it?). Then came Ishida Uryuu, who, the first time I ever saw him, had me at a state I _could_ _not_ speak, think, or do anything but stare. I don't think he noticed, though. I don't think he knew I had been watching him for a week before he introduced himself. I was so damn shy that I pretended I had no clue of who he was. That's right. Me, Ichigo, fearless Shinigami. Shy. Stop laughing.

How the hell does someone respond to that kind of question?

Oh yes I am. Why? Interested? I know you want me.

Bah, I was _not_ going to say that.

I'm sure Uryuu saw the uncomfortable look on my face, but it seemed that he was more interested in getting a response than worrying about whether or not I felt comfortable with the question. Hell, anyone who just _blurts _something like out like that has absolutely no consideration for comfort.

"Uh…" I began, not quite knowing what to say, "…I… suppose so."

He nodded in response and although his glasses were on, I could tell that was _some _form of happiness in his eyes.

Ah fuck, I want to kiss him again. I'm sure he remebers the kiss. I'm _positive_. Maybe his question was to make sure it was an intended one… er, two.

I realised it was still dark. Looking around, I noticed the only source of light was the moonlight that Uryuu was sitting in. He didn't seem to use his lights unless he really needed them. I had heard that he was rather poor, and I suddenly remembered I had left the bathroom light on. Turning in the direction of the bathroom, I noticed he had turned the light off. I still felt somewhat guilty about it. Soon, my eyes wandered back to Uryuu and I forgot everything.

I don't believe it took me that long to realise, but his pale skin, contrasting with that dark hair, bathed in moonlight was just… _fuck_. His skin looked even softer than it did before, and I knew how it felt… the skin on my hands tingling at the memory. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt on blue pants, but _damn_ he made it look good. White and blue were definitely his colours and I'm sure he knew it. I figured he had changed his clothes due to the lack of bloodstains on them. In fact, bandages aside, he looked as though he had never been in a fight… and as if he hadn't come so close to bleeding to death.

I'll admit, the thought scared me. A lot. Uryuu dying, leaving me all alone… it was something I couldn't bear thinking about. Sure, there was still Rukia, Kon and even Sandal-Hat if I needed them, but I didn't need them. I didn't need _anyone_… except for Ishida Uryuu. Our arguments, our late-night fights with Hollows, his freakish intelligence, his liking for gay hobbies like sewing and knitting… it's what made Uryuu so… comfortable. It's what made _life_ comfortable. No matter what happened, the next day, I'll argue with him, call him a freak and be called an idiot or something of the like. And it'll all be okay. I don't think I could handle if that was taken away from me. The thought found me suddenly feeling possessive.

"You're staring at me."

If his voice was anything to judge by, he didn't seem to mind a single bit. Still, I blushed and looked away for a moment before bringing my eyes back to his.

"What's wrong?" he asked, frowning slightly.

I honestly couldn't stand it. I didn't want to wait, I didn't want to worry. I just wanted _him_. So I reached across and with a bandaged hand, grabbed the top of his shirt and pulled him closer.

"Kuro—" he began but I put a hand on his mouth.

"Ichigo," I whispered, "Say _Ichigo_."

He mumbled against my hand and I removed it from his mouth and he repeated it again.

"Ichigo."

I gave a small satisfied smirk, "That's more like it."

That was enough talking for now. Any chances for him to respond went flying out of the window when I leaned forward and kissed him for the third time tonight.

This time, it felt so much better than those other two times. For one, I wasn't worrying about him dying on me, or waking up. He was already conscious of what I was doing and as he responded to my mouth on his, my hands went to his face and neck. Holding him in place, I kissed him with more intenstity, licking his lower lip until he opened his mouth with a moan and then delved into it with my tongue. Hot and sweet and like nothing else I've ever tasted in my entire life, I knew I could get used to this very quickly.

When we broke apart, it was only because we needed air. Panting, we rested our foreheads against each other. I closed my eyes and tried very hard to keep that smile away from my face, but I couldn't help it. I was grinning like an idiot and when I opened my eyes I saw he was smiling too.

Sitting up properly, I pulled him into my lap and began kissing his neck this time as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Mmm…" he said with a satisfied sigh and buried his face in my hair, "You know Ichigo, we have school tomorrow… and it's currently four thirty."

_Fuck_. Talk about mood spoiler.


End file.
